Undercurrent Online Update
for Subscribers

For David Denson Whiteside (with username 'dwhitesi', exp: 2024-08-20, at dwhite95815@hotmail.com )
Cancel all Undercurrent emails

March 15, 2017

Home | Login | Forgot Password? | My Account | FAQ

Does Your Regulator Taste Musty?

If you’ve stored it away while it was still damp from rinsing, it might have grown some bacterial mold inside. No problem! How about imply soaking it in the same solution that is used to sterilize baby’s feeding bottles? Rebreather divers use proprietary disinfectants like Chemgene or Steramine for their valves, hoses and counterlungs, and they’re just as effective with traditional open-circuit breathing regulators too.

Did You Respond to Our Survey?

This month Undercurrent asked if you approved of feeding or baiting of sharks for the benefit of viewing divers. It’s an emotive subject with strong opinions one way or the other. We’d like to hear from you, but do tell us if you’ve had any actual experience of such a dive or not. Go here.

Sri Lanka Aggressor Ceases Operation

Undercurrent exposed and published problems in the operation of this new boat and we have just learned that it has suspended operation as of March 11. The full story in our April issue.

Lost at Sea?

It’s every diver’s nightmare to find no boat waiting when you surface. It happens far too often. We came up with solutions to getting spotted by a searching dive boat in Undercurrent’s November 2016 issue. In case you missed it, they included low-tech kit like over-sized surface marker buoys and flags on extending poles, plus the latest electronic devices such as the Seareq autonomous diver locator system and the Nautilus Lifeline Marine Rescue personal GPS and radio beacon.

Canadian Diver Drowns in the Dominican Republic

Was it faulty rental dive equipment that caused Allen McGuire of Ottawa to die on February 22 while scuba diving? His partner, Luanna Cappuccino, who was vacationing with him and is trying to get the accident report, the liability waiver McGuire signed with Subaquatic and the certification of the accompanying dive guide, but officials are not cooperating. The family has crowdfunded $11,000 to try to access documentation about the accident and to get his remains home. More in Undercurrent in April.

Turkish Surprise

During a ceremony to mark the anniversary of a ferry disaster, Ismail Yilirim, the mayor of Karamursel in Turkey, spotted a diver in trouble and surprised those attending by interrupting the civic ceremony to dive, fully clothed, into the water to save her. She was in the water to position a wreath in tribute to the 272 people who lost their lives in 1958.

Attacked Shark Victim

Brett Johnson, a diving instructor with Reef Divers, leading a group on a dive off Cayman Brac, made a bizarre discovery recently when he saw a nurse shark with a kitchen knife sticking out of its head, the obvious victim of a knife-wielding attacker. He pulled it out and the shark swam off, appearing to survive the ordeal. Sharks have been protected in the Cayman Islands since 2015 but maybe some fishermen need reminding of that.

We Want to Know of Your Experiences

Don’t forget to contribute your insights gained while going on dive trips to Undercurrent’s Readers’ Reports. Send details of any trips you’ve made in the last six months by filling out our online form. You can follow the link “File a Report” on the left side of our homepage at www.undercurrent.org. Or after logging in, follow the “Reader Report” link in the top navigation bar.

Undercurrent on Facebook

Our page continues to attract viewers with the most interesting diving video clips with subjects from nudibranchs to hammerhead sharks in close-up. During the last month, it was footage of the big stuff with snorkelers swimming with whale sharks feeding from the fishermen’s nets in Cenderawasih Bay, West Papua that reached the most people. It was eclipsed this month by a sequence with Jim Abernethy petting a tiger shark at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas, thanks to an on-going fascination for sharks. That clip reached more than 12,000 people in a week!

Raja Ampat Reef in Peril

The cruise ship Caledonian Sky ran aground on Crossover Reef, just north of Kri Island in West Papua, on the 4th March. Those who know there area are surprised such a large vessel was awarded a permit to sail there. When a US Navy ship ran on the Tubbataha Reef in the Philippines, the US government paid nearly 2 million dollars in compensation.

Coming Up in Undercurrent

Chasing whale sharks in Thailand . . . A Cozumel tragedy unfolds . . . Is it safe to dive after rain? . . . A call for a shark cull . . . Coral cuts can cost you . . . More on the Laurel Silver-Valker death in California . . . Faulty kit or faulty judgement? . . . Katherine, the great white shark is back . . . An award-winning travel guide . . . Silent divers are not invisible . . . Fancy Bikini? . . . and much, much more.

Ben Davison, editor/publisher
Contact Ben